Tonight was all about Christingles both large and small. Hut 225 had been turned into a giant Christingle and was full of lots of small Christingles made by the children of St. Andrew's school in Hove.
Christingles can be traced back to a Germany in the mid 1700's but only really took off in this country in 1968 when the Children's Society ran the first Christingle service. Now lots of churches hold them and you can probably find one at a church near you at some point during the Christmas season. The church which is now the home of Beyond will be holding a Christingle service on Sunday 20th December at 5pm if you would like to come along and make your own. The service will be at St. Luke's Prestonville, 64 Old Shoreham Road, Brighton, BN1 5DD you can find a map here.
Christingles are full of the symbolism of the Christmas message. The main part of a Christingle is an orange which represents the world. This has a red ribbon wrapped around it which represents the blood Jesus shed for the world. There are four cocktail sticks with dried fruit or sweets on them, these represent the four seasons and the fruits of the earth and finally the whole object is topped off with a candle which stands for the light of the world.
At the end of the event everyone got to take their own Christingle home with them which will remind them of the true meaning of Christmas throughout this Advent season.
Our next hut is number 404 down near Hove lagoon.
